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SCOTUS' Obamacare Ruling Prompts All The Feels

by Elizabeth King

Phew — the Affordable Care Act has been saved, ya'll! Thanks to the Supreme Court's Obamacare ruling on Thursday morning, millions of Americans will continue to receive their health insurance subsidies through the Affordable Care Act after all. Needless to say, a ton of people are very pleased that the decision went this way. Others? Well, not so much (for reasons I will never understand). In the immediate wake of the decision, we witnessed the epically angry dissent from Judge Antonin Scalia, but that hardly captures the full range of emotions that have been mounting over the last couple of weeks while the country was awaiting the decision. Now that the final word from SCOTUS is out, there's a whole new emotional menu to choose from.

And is it any wonder? With 6.4 million Americans currently using subsidized health insurance, there was a ton at stake if SCOTUS ruled the other way. But in case you're just getting up to speed, their ultimate decision was not a constitutional decision on the law, but rather an interpretation of the law itself. In a nutshell, the Court's ruling dictates that individual states don't have the option to opt-out of the federal marketplace exchange program for health insurance — all 50 states must offer the subsidies for all residents. As Judge Scalia and his two fellow dissenters made clear Thursday, they strongly feel that is illegal, and understand the law to be contradictory regarding the role of the state. The conflict! The drama! I feel like I've been on an emotional roller coaster with this case and it has finally ended. May we never forget all the sweat, tears, and wide-eyed stares that we've collectively shared over this ruling...

Obamacare Might Be ILLEGAL?!

"Noooooooo! I can't handle this. No."

Please Just Let Me Keep My Insurance

"I will do anything. Just pretty please don't take away my free birth control. Or my free antibiotics. Or my amazingly cheap shrink bills."

OK, Why Hasn't SCOTUS Decided Yet?

"Time is ticking and I'm losing my mind thinking about this. JUST TELL US, ALREADY."

Today Is The Day...

"Alright, I can make it 'til the announcement. NBD!" *Refreshes news feed every three seconds*

Is It...? Could It Be...?!

"OK, this is it, guys! The ruling is in. EVERYBODY REMAIN CALM."

I GET TO KEEP MY INSURANCE!

Awwwwww yeah — that's what I'm talking about!

Of course, Twitter wasted no time at all before sounding off once the decision was reached. And it was pretty clear right form the get-go that people are seriously divided. On the one hand, you've got the "Yes, this is wonderful!" camp; but on the other, everyone's all, "I am SO not happy about this..."

Yes! People Get To Keep Their Health Insurance!

Boo! Affordable Health Care Sucks!

No matter what side of the fence you're on with this, at least the Obamacare waiting game is behind us, and all is well in the world of U.S. legislation again. Except, wait... Oh yea, we still have yet to hear a decision about same-sex marriage. (Come on, SCOTUS — hurry up already!)

Images: Giphy (9)